Canadian tax break declines send developers east

Some Canadian developers are relocating to eastern provinces thanks to decreased tax breaks in western regions.

Develop reports tax breaks in British Columbia have expired, leaving some studios unable to financially support staff.

“With the decline of subsidies in British Colombia, studios can no longer support those salaries on a permanent basis. We’re certainly seeing development shift increasingly eastwards within Canada as a result. There are probably double the number of studios in Halifax now, compared to five years ago,” Longtail boss John Jennings said.

Two other developers echoed Jennings’s comments, saying that rising costs in the west of Canada made it difficult to stay in business.

Nova Scotia introduced tax breaks in 2012; Quebec also offers strong business incentives and capital Montral has become a development hub, playing host to Ubisoft Montreal, one of if not the largest studio in the world

“Chasing the subsidies around the country is something we need to avoid though. We need to aim for long-term stability and avoid a dependency on subsidies caused by offering crazy salaries that are reliant on subsidies being in place,” Jennings warned.